LINCOLN -- Defensive lineman Dillion King recovered a fumble to set up Lincoln's winning touchdown drive as the Wolves secured a vital 35-28 conference win over Huntsville (1-6, 0-4 4A-1) Friday.
"We had to win tonight," said Lincoln coach Don Harrison. "We knew how important of a game it was. The kids fought the whole way. That was a huge turnover right there, Dillon King jumping on the ball, then we scored."
Lincoln 35, Huntsville 28
Huntsville 0 13 8 7 — 28
Lincoln 7 14 6 8 — 35
First Quarter
Lincoln — Braden Umberson pass from Caleb Lloyd (Paul Frogg kick).
Second Quarter
Lincoln — Caleb Lloyd run. (kick blocked).
Huntsville — Sean McCone run (kick).
Lincoln — Caleb Lloyd run. (2-pt conversion).
Huntsville — Sean McCone run (kick failed).
Third Quarter
Lincoln — Caleb Lloyd 2-yard run (kick blocked) 1:09.
Huntsville — Zack Elsey 68-yard pass from Sean McCone (Tyler Welch pass from Sean McCone) :13.2.
Fourth Quarter
Huntsville — Zack Elsey 74-yard pass from Sean McCone (kick) 9:35.
Lincoln — Braden Umberson 11-yard pass from Caleb Lloyd. (Caleb Lloyd run) 4:30.
Four plays later Lincoln quarterback Caleb Lloyd, who completed 17 of 28 passes for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions, hit Braden Umberson on an 11-yard slant pass for the go-ahead touchdown. Lloyd ran in the 2-point conversion and the Wolves led 35-28 with 4:30 remaining. The win at Wolfpack Stadium was critical to keep playoff hopes alive for Lincoln (3-4, 2-2 4A-1), but the Wolves had to defend one last Huntsville drive.
Huntsville attacked the same way they took a 28-27 lead on pair of Sean McCone touchdown passes to Zack Elsey. The Eagles' quarterback to wide receiver combination hooked up on scoring plays of 68 and 74 yards during a span of 2:28 to move in front with 9:35 left in the fourth quarter.
They ran out of chances when Elsey dropped a pass inside the Lincoln 10 and a pass intended for Jacob Keller fell incomplete at the Lincoln five on fourth down with 2:04 left in the contest.
"He'll remember the one he dropped, but he made some great plays to put us in that position," said Huntsville coach Randy Barnhill. "Lincoln did what we expected them to. We just didn't do a very good job of tackling for the first two-and-a-half quarters. When we decided to play defense we got the ball back and gave ourselves a chance."
Huntsville began the game with an onside kick that was recovered by Andre Valle giving the Wolves a short field from their own 47. Lloyd capped a 53-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. Paul Frogg's kick added the point-after and Lincoln led 7-0. Beginning with that touchdown, Lincoln scored on their first three possessions of the game.
Huntsville began a drive from their own 43. Using a long completion from McCone to Elsey the Eagles reached Lincoln's 15. Lloyd made a play on defense by sacking McCone for a loss which led to a turnover on downs. The Wolves jump-started an 80-yard scoring drive with a long run to end the first quarter at the Eagle 48 with a 7-0 lead.
Lloyd scored from 6 yards out on a quarterback draw in the first minute of the second quarter. The P.A.T. kick was blocked leaving Lincoln with a 13-0 lead. The start of the next Eagle possession mirrored their first, except this time they finished. The Eagles began at Lincoln's 45-yard-line. A long run moved the line of scrimmage to the Wolves' 7, and McCone scored from a yard out. Miles Prue's extra-point kick drew the Eagles within, 13-7.
Lincoln's third drive went 65 yards. Lloyd hooked up with Umberson (9 catches, 70 yards) for a long pass play to the Eagles' 37, then Yue Phen Lee (9 rushes, 78 yards) ran to the 21. Another Lee carry saw the Wolves knocking at the door. Umberson caught a 2-yard touchdown toss from Lloyd to polish off the drive. Lloyd passed for the 2-point conversion extending Lincoln's lead to 21-7.
Next Lincoln took their turn at trying and failing to recover an onside kick. Colby Shepherd recovered for the Eagles, giving Huntsville a short field from their own 46. Yet another long McCone to Elsey pass advanced the Eagles to the five. McCone ran the ball in from the two, but the extra-point kick failed.
"A bad thing happened at the end of the first half," Harrison said recapping Lincoln's ill-fated fourth possession which ended with a touchback when McCone recovered a fumble in the waning moments of the second quarter.
"We were just about to get a touchdown to go up by two scores. We just fumbled right there. That was a killer cause that would have put us up by two scores."
Lloyd scored on a 2-yard run to put Lincoln ahead, 27-13, in the third quarter. He was hit at the goal line, yet overpowered two defenders to bull his way into the end zone.
Harrison could smile when the game ended. His Wolves had found a way to overcome adversity and win for the second week in a row. Umberson had a good night running the football. He gained 78 yards, the most of any Wolf on the ground, on 10 carries. Jacob Anderson ran effectively, picking up 67 yards on 9 rushes. Lincoln had 245 yards rushing as a team, averaging 6.8 yard on 36 running plays. This Friday Lincoln faces a tough opponent in Shiloh Christian (5-2, 3-1). Kickoff at Champions' Stadium on the Shiloh Christian campus in Springdale is at 7 p.m.
Sports on 10/18/2017